Meskada follows a small-town detective named Noah Cordin as he struggles to solve
the brutal murder of a boy in the peaceful, affluent town of Hilliard. The
killers left behind no clues at the crime scene, with the exception of a scrap
of paper leading Cordin back to his hometown of Caswell. Here, Cordin and county
detective Leslie Spencer consult with Cordin's old friends, all of whom are
suffering from the economic troubles that have plunged Caswell into
neardestitution. As their search fails to turn up a suspect, feverish tensions
rise between the towns of Hilliard and Caswell, until the film reaches its
shocking climax.

Meskada captures a snapshot of quintessential American small-town life. The story
calls to mind our nation's history, the brutal clashes over land and territory,
the class-divides and the improbable victories for equal opportunity. Meskada
portrays a vivid picture of the rift between characters in two towns, people
bound by loyalty, family, community, and a battle born of circumstances beyond
their control.

Director's Statement

As I began my research for the story, my mind continually drifted to a picture of
America, a snapshot of small-town life we all associate with our hard-bitten
national character. It was a vision akin to the one captured in the photographs
of Robert Frank's The Americas of the 1950's. As this vision gradually
developed, I found myself researching our nation's history, the brutal clashes
over land and territory, the class-divides and improbable victories for human
rights. All of this gathered force in my mind, and I began to write. And
research. And write some more.

I watched a high-school basketball game in Oregon, where the wild emotions of the
crowd were electrifying. I sat in on a City Council meeting in Reno, where I
witnessed a vicious exchange over a proposed auto plant. I spoke to a bartender
in New Hampshire, who jokingly bragged that his business was better than ever,
now that the paper mill was closed.

All of this found its way into my writing. I began to create characters in two
towns, people bound by loyalty, family, community, and a battle born of
circumstances beyond their control. It is, I feel, a quintessentially American
story.

Meskada will always be special to me, for I know it was this screenplay that made
me a writer. Although I made films before this one, and will continue to make
them after it's completed, the story of Meskada is also the story of my growth
as an artist.